SAN FRANCISCO - In the second inning Tuesday, as Christian Arroyo strapped on his gear and grabbed his bat, Buster Posey looked over at Matt Cain.
"Goodness," he said. "He looks really young."
There was a time when that was said about Cain, now 32, and Posey, now 30. They broke in as fresh-faced kids, too, but these days they're the grizzled vets, anchors of a clubhouse that got some fresh blood on Monday. Arroyo brought the energy to AT&T Park and Cain and Posey did the rest.
The starter, in the midst of a surprising resurgence, threw six dominant innings against the visiting Dodgers. Posey threw one runner out at second to end the eighth and back-picked Justin Turner at second with two down in the ninth, clinching a 2-1 win that felt like a must-have in the clubhouse.
"I mean, we needed it," Posey said. "I don't think you can underscore it. We definitely needed it."
The front office sensed that after a sweep at Coors Field. After weeks of saying the Giants had to be patient with Arroyo, Bobby Evans pulled the trigger Monday morning. Drew Stubbs was also added to temporarily take over in center. The message was clear: A sense of urgency was needed throughout the organization, and the players responded with perhaps their cleanest game of the year.
Sports
Cain did the heavy lifting, allowing just two hits and a walk before his right hamstring bit. He was pulled while warming up in the seventh, but he's optimistic. Cain missed two weeks last year with the same injury, but he said it's not as bad this time around.
"Last year it was something that was definitely more on my mind when I did it," he said. "I pushed too hard. I thought we were being a lot smarter today."
The bullpen backed Cain, with Steven Okert, George Kontos, Derek Law (who allowed a run but shut down further damage) and Mark Melancon carrying it home. Melancon ran into some trouble in the ninth when Turner alertly took second on a spiked curveball. With Adrian Gonzalez up, the Dodgers were a single away from tying it up. Turner strayed too far off the bag and Posey gunned him down.
"It was just instinct," he said. "He was anticipating a ball being put in play and took that one or two extra stutter steps.
Melancon emphatically yelled on the mound. Cain watched the final out from the trainer's room. The win was his first over the Dodgers in four seasons, and while on the mound, Cain lowered his ERA to a staff-best 2.42.
"He did a great job locating his fastball," Cain said. "He threw his curveball for strikes, expanded the zone with his fastball, mixed some changeups in. He did a nice job."
The approach looks sustainable, and the Giants need it. Madison Bumgarner had another MRI on Monday and while the Giants don't have a firm timetable yet, manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged that it will "be a while."
In the meantime, the Giants will try to find a mix that works. Hunter Pence was moved up to leadoff Monday and he drove in a needed insurance run. The infield trio of Brandon Crawford, Arroyo and Joe Panik combined for the first run, with Crawford doubling, Arroyo moving him over, and Panik skying a ball deep enough for a sacrifice fly.
Bochy praised Arroyo for his approach in that moment, and the rookie said he was focused hard on getting Crawford over. It was the kind of at-bat the Giants teach in the minors, and they hope more is on the way. The Triple-A squad is more talented than it's been in years, and with big leaguers continuing to drop, the depth will be needed.
As he got dressed Monday night, Arroyo rattled off facts from the night's River Cats game and talked about how much he believes in the players there. He's part of a wave that's coming slowly, a group that includes Ty Blach, who faces a monumental task Tuesday. The young left-hander will go up against Clayton Kershaw as the Giants try to keep the momentum going.
"We've got our hands full tomorrow," Bochy said. "We know it. I thought tonight was huge for us to stop things."
